Niece needed a ride home from scruel and there is a small, new veggie stand on the way home. I stopped and nosed around. I found some small cucumbers.... Persian Mini. Never heard of them before. I was getting a few when the owner came over and we started talking. I wound up with a 20# flat. (About 9 Kilos for those that use SI units.) I brought them home, rinsed off half of them and put them to soak in a brine.
I picked up a couple gallon fermenting jars from Vally Verld late last year. This was their first "voyage". They have plastic lids with a water lock on the top. Very cool. As the ferment happens, the gas expelled bubbles up the trap but no air comes back through. Keeps the system running like it should. Anaerobic.
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Our happy friend that causes the ferment lives on the cukes. It's lacto-something (acid, bacillus, Jim Backus??). And it makes a nice, scummy white slurm over time. That means we are on the right path to amazing flavor. Light is NOT their friend, so I wrapped the jars in butcher paper sleeves.
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The smell makes my mouth water.... It's time to give them a try. They say to wait 5 days, but I waited 2 weeks. I like to give them time to get.... stout.
I'm no hippy dippy weather man, but I do like the taste of these. I'm not a back to nature type. I do this for the taste. Dad told me when he was a kid, pickles tasted totally different than the vinegar ones we all know. These are like what he got when he was a kid. Brother, they are really tasty.
https://www.blessthismessplease.com/easy-fermented-pickles/
STxAR, I saw some of these jars types with the air lock at Lehman's. They were glass, which made them potentially interesting for things like kimchee.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to make kimchee, use these:
DeleteCheck out on Amazon, E-Jen Premium Kimchi, Sauerkraut Container Probiotic Fermentation with Inner Vacuum Lid Round (3.1 gal/ 12L)
I would normally just put in a link, but cut and paste is broken today!! What is going on with my pc?? I have two different sizes and they work perfectly. You don't have to cover the glass with paper to keep out the light.
I'm always afraid of home-brewing stuff like that. My parents instilled in me a healthy fear of things like botulism. But I sure would like to try it.
ReplyDeleteSomeone had a recipe for saurkraut that consisted mainly of cutting the heart out of a head of cabbage, filling it with salt, and then sticking the thing in a container on top of the fridge for (2 weeks?). After that, delicious saurkraut. I bet it is.
We must be kin. Mom and dad warned us about sealed jars and bulged cans. It took me years to stop cooking bacon until it was rock hard (all pigs have worms). I'm very conscious about cleanliness. I usually cut a sliver and taste it to be sure it isn't rotten. This is my second attempt at it. This came out pretty good.
DeleteInteresting.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of those jars.
The best part is that you won't be running out of pickles anytime soon!
I couldn't grow weeds this year. It was like nothing I've ever seen. I had to BUY cucumbers. Zucchini wouldn't even grow. It hit a 100 in April and was unrelenting until October. No matter how much I watered or shaded the plants, they would stall out and never blossom. Weird summer. Every day from May through September was a 100 plus. We only had two inches of rain from Jan to Sept. I don't think our pecans have any meat in them at all this year. Way too dry and hot.
DeleteWait a minute! Pickles ferment??? Do they all do that or is it just this recipe, STxAR? What is the alcoholic content?
ReplyDeleteY'know I have never made pickles. That is a glaring oversight in my educational background...
Yes sir. They surely do. There is a lacto-something that lives on the skin. Just rinse off the dirt, follow the recipe and bob's your uncle.
DeleteNo alcohol. It doesn't go that way for some reason. Maybe because they are whole. This white scummy stuff is the lacto-bugs doing their thing. It's a salty, spicy, crunchy dill pickle. No vinegar. Like sauerkraut with cucumbers I guess.
You can pickle most anything. green beans, asparagus, my favorite bread and butter pickles were made with yellow summer squash. Very festive and sweet. I'm drooling just thinking about them.
Make up a batch, you don't even have to seal them like I do when I can them. Just do the cooking, let them cool and put them in the fridge for a week. They will be better than anything you can buy.